Williamsville Hiring Security Monitors For Each School

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. -- Following the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the Williamsville Central School District is adding an extra layer of security to each of its schools.

The district has posted 13 jobs on its website for part-time monitors, who will sit inside each school entrance. Once a visitor is buzzed into the building, the workers will monitor them and make sure they report to the main office or where they're supposed to go. The workers also serve as another set of eyes for school security.

"We just want to make sure that there's someone there greeting (visitors) and bringing them to the main office to sign in and to go on with their business," Superintendent Dr. Scott Martzloff said.

The jobs pay $10.61 per hour for 5 hours each day.

Dr. Martzloff said the monitors will work through the end of this school year. It's still to be determined if the program will be used again next year.

"Certainly there's a national conversation going on right now in regards to (security)," Dr. Martzloff said. "We're going to be part of that dialogue moving forward."

School Board President Carrie Kahn said the new workers will be part of a "behind-the-scenes" effort to imrove safety without alarming students.

"They should notice nothing," Kahn said. "They should walk into the building and feel the safe environment that they've always seen and heard."

In addition to the newly hired safety monitors, the district has taken other steps to beef up security, including working with the Amherst Police Department on random safety checks, doing more safety drills with students and staff, and providing threat assessment training for the schools' mental health professionals.

"We're also looking at things that will be some longer-term solutions to assist us in providing for a more secure environment," Dr. Martzloff added.